Fiona Hill testifies in Capital Hill.
Today in The New York Times;In response to:
Former Trump Aide Fiona Hill Speaks to Impeachment Investigators on Ukraine
By Peter Baker
Oct. 14, 2019
Updated 2:36 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — Fiona Hill, President Trump’s former top Russia and Europe adviser, met with House impeachment investigators on Monday prepared to testify that she and other officials objected strenuously to the removal of the ambassador to Ukraine, only to be disregarded.
Ms. Hill, who stepped down from the White House’s National Security Council staff over the summer, viewed the recall of Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch from Kiev as an egregious abuse of the system by allies of Mr. Trump who were seeking to push aside a perceived obstacle, according to a person familiar with Ms. Hill’s account. Ms. Yovanovitch told the investigators in closed-door testimony last week that the president had personally pushed for her ouster for months, based on “false claims.”
The removal of Ms. Yovanovitch has emerged as a key episode in the narrative under examination by the House as part of its impeachment inquiry against Mr. Trump. A career diplomat, Ms. Yovanovitch was targeted by Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, and other allies who were seeking to press Ukraine to investigate Mr. Trump’s Democratic rivals.
Ms. Hill’s interview kicked off what promises to be another active week of investigation by the House, where Democrats opened a formal impeachment inquiry late last month based on an intelligence officer’s whistle-blower complaint that alleged that Mr. Trump had abused his power to try to enlist Ukraine to interfere on his behalf in the 2020 election.
The recall of the ambassador was a case study in how Mr. Giuliani and his allies pursued their goals by sidelining or circumventing the government officials, like Ms. Yovanovitch and Ms. Hill, who were formally overseeing policy toward Ukraine. Ms. Hill was kept out of the loop by Mr. Giuliani and the president’s allies as they negotiated separately with Ukrainian officials, including on issues clearly in her area of responsibility.
Ms. Hill was the first person who worked in the White House to be deposed by House investigators and appeared despite the administration’s declaration last week that it would refuse to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry or allow its staff to do so. The White House did not attempt to stop Ms. Hill from testifying, according to the person familiar with her account, but White House lawyers exchanged letters with Ms. Hill’s lawyer about precedents regarding the confidentiality of presidential communications.
The House Intelligence Committee issued a last-minute subpoena Monday morning to compel Ms. Hill to speak with the investigators, according to an official involved in the investigation. The arrangement was similar to one used last week to secure Ms. Yovanovitch’s cooperation, allowing both witnesses to more easily justify ignoring the White House’s clear opposition to cooperation with the House inquiry.
Ms. Hill, who was described as sensitive to the concerns of executive confidentiality, may limit her answers regarding direct interactions with the president. But her testimony has been highly anticipated, in part because she has a long history as a skeptic of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia who nonetheless worked for two years for Mr. Trump as he made friendship with the Russian leader a high priority.
Ms. Hill brought no opening statement to Monday’s session, unlike Ms. Yovanovitch and Kurt D. Volker, the former special envoy for Ukraine, when they were interviewed by House investigators. The interview was taking place behind closed doors, but parts or all of it may be made public later. Unlike Mr. Volker, she had no documents, emails or text messages to turn over because she left them behind when she stepped down.
Former Trump Aide Fiona Hill Speaks to Impeachment Investigators on Ukraine
By Peter Baker
Oct. 14, 2019
Updated 2:36 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — Fiona Hill, President Trump’s former top Russia and Europe adviser, met with House impeachment investigators on Monday prepared to testify that she and other officials objected strenuously to the removal of the ambassador to Ukraine, only to be disregarded.
Ms. Hill, who stepped down from the White House’s National Security Council staff over the summer, viewed the recall of Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch from Kiev as an egregious abuse of the system by allies of Mr. Trump who were seeking to push aside a perceived obstacle, according to a person familiar with Ms. Hill’s account. Ms. Yovanovitch told the investigators in closed-door testimony last week that the president had personally pushed for her ouster for months, based on “false claims.”
The removal of Ms. Yovanovitch has emerged as a key episode in the narrative under examination by the House as part of its impeachment inquiry against Mr. Trump. A career diplomat, Ms. Yovanovitch was targeted by Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, and other allies who were seeking to press Ukraine to investigate Mr. Trump’s Democratic rivals.
Ms. Hill’s interview kicked off what promises to be another active week of investigation by the House, where Democrats opened a formal impeachment inquiry late last month based on an intelligence officer’s whistle-blower complaint that alleged that Mr. Trump had abused his power to try to enlist Ukraine to interfere on his behalf in the 2020 election.
The recall of the ambassador was a case study in how Mr. Giuliani and his allies pursued their goals by sidelining or circumventing the government officials, like Ms. Yovanovitch and Ms. Hill, who were formally overseeing policy toward Ukraine. Ms. Hill was kept out of the loop by Mr. Giuliani and the president’s allies as they negotiated separately with Ukrainian officials, including on issues clearly in her area of responsibility.
Ms. Hill was the first person who worked in the White House to be deposed by House investigators and appeared despite the administration’s declaration last week that it would refuse to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry or allow its staff to do so. The White House did not attempt to stop Ms. Hill from testifying, according to the person familiar with her account, but White House lawyers exchanged letters with Ms. Hill’s lawyer about precedents regarding the confidentiality of presidential communications.
The House Intelligence Committee issued a last-minute subpoena Monday morning to compel Ms. Hill to speak with the investigators, according to an official involved in the investigation. The arrangement was similar to one used last week to secure Ms. Yovanovitch’s cooperation, allowing both witnesses to more easily justify ignoring the White House’s clear opposition to cooperation with the House inquiry.
Ms. Hill, who was described as sensitive to the concerns of executive confidentiality, may limit her answers regarding direct interactions with the president. But her testimony has been highly anticipated, in part because she has a long history as a skeptic of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia who nonetheless worked for two years for Mr. Trump as he made friendship with the Russian leader a high priority.
Ms. Hill brought no opening statement to Monday’s session, unlike Ms. Yovanovitch and Kurt D. Volker, the former special envoy for Ukraine, when they were interviewed by House investigators. The interview was taking place behind closed doors, but parts or all of it may be made public later. Unlike Mr. Volker, she had no documents, emails or text messages to turn over because she left them behind when she stepped down.
(continued below in my first comment)
Comments (9)
YOU may not want to learn politics, but others do and we
all have a right to read whatever we want.
I won't hold it against you, if I never see you again.
Indeed, the next comment you (or anyone else) make(s) like that, will simply be deleted without a response.
D - while you have a right to believe any religion you want, and
that has become what the GOP is about, getting people to BELIEVE their lies are gospel.
It is based on a lot of lies, that you BELIEVE are true. That is their goal.
They FABRICATED lies in an effort to take down Obama (I've already addressed them with you).
They, with the help of Russia propagated more lies about Hillary.
Look how much of our money the GOP wasted on Benghazi investigations.
They made up lies to defame Biden.
Now they are now FABRICATING lies in an effort to protect the criminal Trump.
Regardless, THIS BLOG is about the testimony of Fiona Hill.
If you have something factual you want to state about that, feel free.
Please stay on topic.
Gowdy's committee was voted on with rules and guidelines.
Do you see the differences yet?
An official working on the impeachment inquiry said Gaetz was booted because he does not sit on any of the committees conducting the impeachment investigation.
“Pursuant to the House Rules and the House Deposition Regulations, only Members and designated staff from the three committees undertaking the joint investigation – the Intelligence, Oversight, and Foreign Affairs Committees – are permitted to attend and participate in a deposition," the official told CNN.
Gaetz "attempted to crash today’s deposition despite being ineligible and refused to leave, causing an unnecessary delay in the deposition," the source added.
I can see it now... Trump behind closed doors and 10 minutes later case is dismissed. While the the media questions the Whistleblower asking if they were threatened and the (shaky) reply is "No... not at any point in our meeting"
Sure... let's forget about protection laws.
Prove any of what you continue to bleat about... I dare you..
And the western journal is just more exploitative tabloid journalism like the enquirer; complete nonsense, exaggeration, unsubstantiated gossip and sensationalized news stories..
Yet, you did so with the name calling art work at the end.
Thus, I deleted your total comment, because I can't delete just part of it.